Poll: New Yorkers have low opinion of Congress

Some 78 percent of New Yorkers view Congress unfavorably, and 59 percent blame its Republicans for the recent government shutdown, a Siena College survey released Tuesday shows.

Eighteen percent of New Yorkers have a favorable view of Congress, with 4 percent saying they do not know or have no opinion.

“Albany, it appears, has found a way to deflect the dysfunction card,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement. “It flipped it over to Washington.”

Some 74 percent think the country is headed in the wrong direction, with 19 percent saying the country is on the right track and 7 percent non-committal, the poll shows.

Along party lines, 84 percent of Republicans polled think the nation is headed the wrong way, as do 66 percent of Democrats.

The Democratic percentage is “a dramatic change from last month when a plurality of Democrats, by a margin of 48-41 percent, felt the country was on the right track,” Greenberg said.

Some 30 percent of respondents blame President Barack Obama for the shutdown, and 8 percent blame both Obama and the congressional GOP.

Some 55 percent view Obama favorably, with 42 percent unfavorable. Among Upstate New York respondents, 44 percent have a favorable view of the president and 53 percent view him unfavorably.

Some 43 percent want to see the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act move forward, 32 percent want it delayed until changes can be made and 22 percent want it repealed. Among upstaters, 32 percent want it to move forward, 39 percent want it delayed and 25 percent want it repealed.

The poll was conducted Oct. 14-16 with telephone calls to 822 registered voters in New York State. The margin of error is 3.4 percent.

What You're Saying

Michael Torre at 5:47:14 AM on 10/23/2013

It's a sad situation and a stale one, that the Democrates continue to blame everyone else but themselves for the troubles of this Country. Republicans have nothing to do with the dieing Obamacare Program, in fact the House wanted to delay the program for a year to make sure ... Read More >

It's a sad situation and a stale one, that the Democrates continue to blame everyone else but themselves for the troubles of this Country. Republicans have nothing to do with the dieing Obamacare Program, in fact the House wanted to delay the program for a year to make sure all the glitches were out and the Dempocrates refused. The people of this Country really need to take time out and read the 28th Amendement to the US Constitution and see for themselves how Obamacare is stepping on our rights and is illegal. What it basically says is that if Obamacare is the law of the land ,the members of Congress and their staff must comply to the same law by having the same insurance. It dosn't matter what party you belong to everyone must agree to this. Lets not lose our freedom the Constitution was written to protect our rights , not even the President can ,at will, come along and change that but in this case he is trying to be above the law. < close